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Rating: 
Summary: A good buy -- good ideas
Review: As with all homeschool books, I read the book, and then I pick and chose the ideas that will work for me and my children. I did find enough in this book to purchase it. This book has many good ideas, and would help many families get started on home schooling. I'm not a christian and so I just skip the bible study parts, or substitute with appropriate moral lessons or stories.What I like is the suggested reading; my children and I are always reading together, and the more suggestions for reading the better. This book was originally spiral bound - I recently saw an old spiral bound copy at a book fair, but I purchased the newer version, and will put it in a 3-ring binder. (I had a 3 year old remove a book from a spiral binding once - ug what a mess). My best advice to parents starting out is read all you can from the library, and then purchase only what you think you will use!! -- be prepared to resell most of it, and don't be afraid to ditch it all and start over.
Rating:
Summary: A good buy -- good ideas
Review: As with all homeschool books, I read the book, and then I pick and chose the ideas that will work for me and my children. I did find enough in this book to purchase it. This book has many good ideas, and would help many families get started on home schooling. I'm not a christian and so I just skip the bible study parts, or substitute with appropriate moral lessons or stories. What I like is the suggested reading; my children and I are always reading together, and the more suggestions for reading the better. This book was originally spiral bound - I recently saw an old spiral bound copy at a book fair, but I purchased the newer version, and will put it in a 3-ring binder. (I had a 3 year old remove a book from a spiral binding once - ug what a mess). My best advice to parents starting out is read all you can from the library, and then purchase only what you think you will use!! -- be prepared to resell most of it, and don't be afraid to ditch it all and start over.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book - recommend it highly
Review: I am just finishing my 2nd year of hsing and 1st with this book (used Before Five in a Row last year). This book was excellent and I'm having trouble finding something just as good for next year.
The curriculum is for M-R with a F field trip. Subjects include Bible, Reading, Arithetic, P.E., Stories (M-R), Art (M&W), Music (T&R), Character Building (M), God's World (T&R), Health & Manners (W). The "school" should take 30 min - 2 hours (we lean toward the 30min). The F field trips and following M thank you notes really sold me on the book.
You supplement with library books that you order 2 weeks prior. You'll need worksheets, cards for games, etc that you can either make or purchase. In addition, you'll need the basics, crayons, paints, paper, etc. Probably stuff you already have.
The author includes lots of helpful info about planning your day, etc that the first time hser may find useful. Don't let the format scare you - you can be as flexible or rigid in your schedule as you like.
The only drawback I've found is that the book is for preschool AND kindergarten but the kindergarten section repeats the preschool subjects with the exception of reading and arithmatic. Seems a bit repetitive for the teacher, if not the preschooler.
Overall, this is a wonderful book. Since using it, 3 other friends have begun using it as well. A final suggestion: we invited other preschool friends along on our fieldtrips and made them into playdates with lunch afterwards.
Rating:
Summary: Great book - recommend it highly
Review: I can't believe this book. When I got to the part where she mentions that she had her children call her "Mrs. Ward" during the school time, I should have closed it and never picked it up again. But I didn't, instead I read on thinking that I might be able to get something out of the book. As I read the material list I thought that I would need to refurnish the house into an old-fashion schoolhouse! But when I read week one I was about rolling on the floor with laughter. Day one has the children name their school. (I'm surprised that they didn't have a school mascot) Well my daughter already knows the name of her school, "home". I am so glad that I checked this book out from the library thus not wasting my money.
Rating:
Summary: Easy and complete
Review: I first found this book at the library and after using with my daughter for several weeks, I knew I couldn't not have it permanently. It has a well-rounded curriculum and each activity has it's fundmental purpose listed. It's premise is to use the library as your main resource and has many "make-at-home" materials. I supplement it with other stuff as I see fit, but it's a wonderful foundation to our learning. Having taught elementary school for several years, I find this book to be right on target.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: I stumbled upon this book at a thrift store and LOVE it! It is much easier to follow than most books I've purchased. Step by step instructions, plenty of reading material listed that you can find at most libraries, fun make-it-yourself activities. Loved the notebook that you keep to show their work and progress. Nothing negative what-so-ever to say! I worked in the public school system (elementary) for 6 years, but am homeschooling my own now. This fits perfectly! And it's very easy to supplement with the reading program and math program I'm using (The Reading Lesson and Pre-Math-It.) This curriculum has just made my planning SO much easier!
Rating: 
Summary: Structured, complete school-at-home -- a good resource
Review: Learning at Home includes a complete, very structured curriculum. All the necessary subjects are covered, including Bible and Health/Manners. Each week has separate Monday through Friday lesson plans. The lesson plans seem very "school-like" in their approach and design. For those parents unsure about how to homeschool, this should provide reassurance that all necessary areas are being covered. A detailed list of concepts taught is included for all of the various subjects. For my tastes, it's a bit too structured and too much like school-at-home. The author suggests a school schedule that breaks some tasks down into as little as 5 minute intervals. The calendar time recommended for each morning, where the children recite the days of the week, date and numbers 1-50 (progressing to 1-100) seems too much like the rote memorization and drill technique used in public schools. The book does, however, contains some excellent ideas for learning/teaching. The Grid, a matching game, is a great tool for various types of learning. The suggestions on house cleaning, including how to involve the children, is insightful. The ideas on follow-up and review after a field trip are quite good, too. The information above indicates that the book is spiral bound. It's not. It's a standard 8 1/2 X 11 paperback. A spiral binding would be very useful since that way the book could be left open to the page(s) including the day's lesson plan. Leaning at Home is a good resource. I plan to refer to it often.
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